Thermal Conductivity in Mechanical Structures

Heating up a steel bar from one end and holding the other end in hand, you will soon feel the increased temperature. This indicates one of the heat transfer mode, thermal conduction. Thermal conduction transfers heat energy by collision of particles within a body. In engineering, thermal conduction is mathematically described by Fourier’s law. In this course, we will have a comprehensive discussion of Fourier’s law not only for the formulation, but also about its physical meaning. A very important concept, “steady state thermal analysis” is introduced, which assumes stead- state for all thermal loads and boundary conditions without consideration of time. In addition, within the topic of thermal conduction, thermal contact is also introduced to learn how it is handled in simulation.